K7 Vinyl & CDs

Review: Last year, Akase duo Harry Agius and Robert Redway set out their stall with a pair of impressive singles on K7. Here, they return to the long-running German label with a similarly atmospheric and otherworldly debut album. Sitting somewhere between intoxicating outsider house, woozy synth-pop, undulating tech-house and heartfelt blue-eyed soul, but with a radio-friendly vibe all of its' own, Graspers is the kind of set that should appeal to a wide range of listeners. Certainly, it's full of memorable songs, enjoyable late night moments, emotion-rich compositions and evocative productions. As debut albums go, it's quietly confident and boasts an unfussy beauty.

Review: As the convoluted title suggests, this double CD mix-up from leather jacket-clad Phantasy Sound boss Erol Alkan offers two distinctly different flavours and a welcome update on his classic first Mix CD release for Bugged Out. The first disc, his Bugged In selection, delivers a fuzzy, off-kilter trawl through some of Alkan's current home listening faves. It's typically eclectic, touching on lo-fi rock, psychedelic oddities, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and soft focus electronica from the likes of Walls and Space Dimension Controller. The second disc, on the other hand, sees Alkan in full-on club mode. Recorded live, it's something of an energetic romp through darkroom disco, Italo, classic techno, balls-out bangers and twisted acid house revivalism. It is, of course, a sweaty treat.

Review: Apparat's respected position amongst the electronic music cognoscenti has been secured mostly via his overseeing the Shitkatapult Empire and the canon of music released alongside Ellen Alien and the more recent brushed metallic tones of techno drama explored as Moderat with Modeselektor. He isn't, however, known for his DJing abilities, which makes his inclusion in the DJ Kicks series a puzzling one at first. This sensation dissipates however once your ears consume the 70 minutes and 22 tracks on offer here. Ring stated an intention to dispel the notion he plies a distinctly bittersweet sound, and that's always going to be achieved when there's the likes of Ramadanman, Martyn and Carl Craig (in his 69 guise) amidst the tracks. Whislt this isn't, as you'd expect, a technically sensational mix, a definite glitchy mood is retained throughout with some dazzling moments. The harmonious ascent of Four Tet's remix of Born Ruffian's from the industrial mist of Autechre's remix of Scorn in particular stands out. Four Tet's collaboration with Burial marks the onset of another highlight with the swift saunter through Vincent Markowski and Ramadanman that arrives at Radiohead twitcher Thom Yorke's "Harrodown Hill". An engaging selection best heard on headphones at high volume that highlights new aspects with every listen.

Review:  Such has been the rise of Marquis Hawkes in recent times that this debut album must mark as one of the most anticipated house sets of 2016. Happily, Social Housing is a superb showcase not only for Hawkes' talents, but also his understanding of house music in its' many myriad forms. The album does include, of course, a sprinkling of jackin' workouts, but these are outnumbered by such thrilling chunks of loved-up positivity as the Tiger & Woods style loop funk of "Fantasy", the Theo Parrish-ish jazz fuzziness of "Summer Memory", and the cheeky, Todd Edwards style cut-up garage of "Something In Yr Head" [sic]. The album's most potent moment, though, is "I'm So Glad", a collaboration with Jocelyn Brown that already ranks among 2016's most potent tunes.

Review: As a producer, Daniel Avery has rightfully earned a reputation as someone with a distinct stylistic vision. While he regularly flits between styles and tempos, his music retains a dark, horror-influenced edge that's rarely less than beguiling. During club sets, he rarely strays away from a dense techno template, selecting tracks that fit his distinctively foreboding style. It's this side to his musical personality that shines through on DJ Kicks. It begins and ends with two maudlin chunks of otherworldly ambience; in between, you'll find an array of booming, late night techno jams from the likes of Shlomo, Planetary Assault Systems, Slam and Artefakt. Naturally, it's slickly mixed, resulting in a paranoid journey through 21st century body music.

Review: Closely affiliated with Nina Kraviz's trip label, Icelandic maverick Bjarki has managed to carve out a unique identity for himself in the hustle and bustle of contemporary electronic music. Following three full-length releases back in 2016, he now appears on !K7 with a new album that shows off the depth and breadth of his idiosyncratic vision. From curious ambient excursions peppered with rich sound design to spooked out boogie and deconstructed techno, sometimes within the same track, Bjarki has ably cemented his reputation as one of the scene's most intriguing operatives. Just take a trip on the fractured breaks and looming pads of "AN6912" and marvel at the originality.

Review: After the release of their well-respected, southern US influenced, blues-infected, dub infused album "Dust My Broom" in 2005, Boozoo Bajou return with mix compilation "Juke Joint II". Influenced by the Southern concept of a rural bluesman hangout, but with the trademark Boozoo Bajou from Germany sound making their musical tastes "in the mix" and expanding that concept into a place John Lee Hooker never imagined. The album features two new exclusive tracks from Boozoo Bajou: one is the exclusive "Pflug." The second is the new single "Back Up" featuring Oh No, a guest MC from Stones Throw. While the first installment of "Juke Joint" reflected Boozoo Bajou's preferences of blues and dub, the second edition is all about global varieties of soul and funk. Track by track, Boozoo Bajou connect the past with the present. Their journey begins with a stop in the southern U.S. with their remix of Tony Joe White's legendary "A Rainy Night In Georgia." After a short trip to the northern states, they travel to Vienna for a downbeat track from Urbs & Cutex. Next, they jet to England for the beat architects Blend Crafters and Mark Rae. The journey continues to Finland and Nicole Willis with her neo-sixties-soul-anthem "Feeling Free". Ethiopia is represented by "Ethiopiques" jazz from Mulatu Astatque, who garnered some attention after appearing on the soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch's movie "Broken Flowers". Another stop is made in Jamaica with tracks from Dennis Bovell and Light Of Saba, plus a stop in Berlin with Rechenzentrum. All the tracks on this record are held together by a vibe nailing down the meaning of music originating from soul depth, animation, cheerful melancholia, and a laid back atmosphere. Not coincidentally, the music of Boozoo Bajou also encompasses all these sentiments, making "Juke Joint II" a tribute from those two Nuremberg-based producers to all these other soul mate musicians and producers.

Review: Brackles Songs For Endless Cities !K7
CD £7.60 K7264CD
DEAL 10 on 1,15 on 3,17.5on 5
TRACKLISTING:
01. Flying Lotus - My Chippy (WARP)
02. Floating Points - Peoples Potential (EGLO)
03. Zomby - Tarantula (HYPERDUB)
04. Roska - I Need Love feat. Anesha (RINSE)
05. Brackles - Blo (COOL IN THE POOL / !K7)
06. Martin Kemp - No Charisma (BLUNTED ROBOTS)
07. Kyle Hall - Luv for KMFH (Wild Oats)
08. Cooly G - Love Dub Refix (HYPERDUB)
09. DJ Dom - Sunshowers (Blunted Robots)
10. DJ Mystery - Speechless feat. Natalie K (DJ MYSTERY)
11. Hypno - Over The Top (PTN/RAMP)
12. Rishi Romero - African Forest (MADE IN NL)
13. Breach - Fatherless (PTN/RAMP)
14. Deadboy - If You Want Me (NUMBERS)
15. 2562 - Dinosaur (TECTONIC)
16. Dorian Concept - Trilingual Dance Sexperience (AFFINE)
17. Funkineven - Must Move (EGLO)

OVERVIEW:
New !K7 affilated label Cool in the Pool opens it's account with a state of the art compilation from 24 year old Londoner Brackles. In the last six months, the Blunted Robots co-owner and FWD/Rinse FM regular has been grappling with the "Future Garage" tag that's been pushed his way, and he's not too keen. "Too limiting" he says. He can live with the "Post Dubstep" moniker, but his first commercially available mix album gives us a better snapshot of where this buzzing, vibrant scene is going than any scene name could hope to do.
Songs for endless cities is a new series that will be focusing on the new generation of DJs and producers who have a fresh and individual take on an ever evolving electronic scene.

Anyone with a passing interest in new electronic music may have noticed a generation shift over the last few years, and Brackles comes from that new wave of producers, promoters, DJs, hustlers and bustlers who have little to do with the 40+ year old Ibiza veterans still punting out big tunes for ever diminishing creative returns. They're part of the "hardcore continuum," but not shackled with it, they play "post dubstep" but aren't defined by it, and whilst the likes of Brackles and his contemporaries work dancefloors with the kind of energy only a new, young generation of DJs can, their musical scope and breadth reaches well beyond club confines. "Hearing UK Funky was really refreshing after listening to dubstep for a few years. I still love dubstep but funky contains a lot of elements that I'd been missing since UK Garage died. It opened my eyes to all kinds of house music and I now try and fit a lot of different bits from house, funky and dubstep into my sets"

Songs for Endless Cities aims to capture a slice of Brackles after hours and out of hours, with the afterglow still burning, maybe the rhythms still bumping, but with the freedom to rove around a bit, enjoying and exploring sound without always having to turn back to the dancefloor.

From the langorous, ethereal machine funk of opener Flying Lotus' "Mr Chippy," and the cosmic-jazz tinged 303 energy of Floating Points' "People's Potential," the classy, stripped back future-soul of Roska's "I Need Love" and the UR-style strains of Dorian Concept's "Trilingual Dance Sexperience," to Deadboy's "If You Want Me," a lethal combination of broken, funky rhythms, futuristic machine drones, disembodied soul diva looped up into hypno oblivion, topped off with an M1 organ riff straight out of the Frog and Nightgown in '96, Songs never stays in one musical place, but is a very much a coherent "whole."

Mixed in amongst the well known names are several with which listeners might not be so familiar. That's likely to change, according to Brackles. "The newer artists I've picked I think will go on to be sitting in the same bracket as those big artists at some point. Funkineven already has some great releases and I reckon the Breach tune on the mix is gonna be one of the biggest of 2010."

It's a mix for the mind and the soul as much as the body, and it comes from a legion of musical influences, not all of them conscious ones. It was only when Mike 'Mu' Paradinas commented on the Detroit influence he heard in Brackles' sound that the young Londoner went off to explore and enjoy the Motor City mothership, and now it's there, along with the Garage, the Dubstep, the House, the Funky and the rest of it, all channelling into Brackles' contribution to the continuum, all helping shape his Songs for Endless Cities.

PRESS: Interview and feature in Mixmag, feature in K Mag, reviews confirmed in iDJ, DJ, RA, FACT, The Quietus, Shook, The Times Online, ATM Magazine, Dazed, Dazed Digital, Stool Pigeon, Drowned in Sound, K Mag, POP Magazine, Sonic Router, Prefix Mag.
RADIO: Brackles a regular guest on Rinse FM, tracks from the compilation have featured in numerous mixes and spot plays on dance shows.
LIVE: Regular DJ sets all over UK and Europe.
CLUB: Many of the tracks have featured in the playlists of all the tastemaker DJ's of the scene

Review: The long running DJ Kicks serious has always been fascinating, offering as it does the chance for DJs and producers known for a particular style to spread their wings musically. Jazz-minded German techno combo Brandt Bauer Frick grab that chance with both hands on their instalment, showcasing an atmospheric blend heavily influenced by nu-jazz and smoky, jazz-flecked deep house. Along the way, there are numerous pleasing diversions, from the head-nodding analogue boogie of Inkswel and Moog-laden African rhythms of William Onyeabor, to the dense drum workout of their own "Brommel" and the winding synths and ultra-deep production of Fantastic Man's "Late At Night". They also make room for a bit of tech-jazz (Galaxy 2 Galaxy), and the booming late night moves of Cosmin TRG.

Review: Ben Westbeech dons his deep house moniker, Breach, to mix the latest installment of the long-running DJ Kicks series. With a quietly soulful sheen, tactile chords, late night deepness and shuffling rhythms aplenty, it's an enjoyable listen; atmospheric without being dreary, with enough stand-out moments to require multiple listens to really enjoy its melodic intricacies. It's an impressive tracklist, too, with inspired contributions from Wire People, Fred P, Cassio Kohl, Dusky (whose booming remix of CLOSE and Joe Dukie's sinewy "My Way" is turning into one of the tunes of the year) and Dopplereffekt, as well as the obligatory exclusive track (Westbeech's touchy-feely "Beroving").

Review: Two years ago, hippy-ish blue-eyed soul sort James Alexander Bright announced himself via an EP that brilliantly joined the dots between folktronica and blue-eyed soul. "Headroom", his hotly anticipated debut album, picks up where that release left off, building on his trademark musical template by also drawing on elements on glassy-eyed Balearic synth-pop, 21st century psychedelia, sunrise-ready jazz, dub disco and loved-up dream-pop. You'll find a string of fine songs of course, but also some brilliant instrumentals, some of which allow Bright to explore his more experimental side without compromising his summery, sun-baked approach. Well worth a listen.

Review: On his edition of the long running DJ Mix series, Kerri Chandler has eschewed the dancefloor in favour of a set that showcases his "influences and inspirations". For the most part, that means a slick selection of soul, jazz-funk, disco and boogie gems from the '70s and '80s, with occasional deviations into electro (Fantasy Three's "It's Your Rock (Instrumental)"), Afro-dub (Chandler's own previously unheard "Stop Wasting My Time") and inspirational '90s fare (Innerzone Orchestra's sublime acoustic soul cover of "People Make The World Go Round"). Throw in a wealth of specially made interludes and you have a brilliantly programmed and mixed journey through Chandler's musical youth.

Review: For her volume in K7's legendary DJ Kicks series, Cinthie Christl has delivered a righteous, life-affirming, no-holds-barred club mix that spends much of its time (though by no means all) showcasing old school and contemporary (if self-consciously retro-futurist) garage-house and deep house jams. That means groovy basslines, bumpin' beats, infectious organ motifs, diva vocal samples and surging piano riffs aplenty. Of course, there are diversions -see the crunchy breakbeat dreaminess of Ben Hauke, the squelchy Chicago deep house of 'Emergency Tech' by Boo Williams, the micro-house of BMW and the acid-fired shimmer of Anna Wall - but it's the loved-up brilliance of the classic-sounding house cuts from the likes of Terrence Parker, Adriyano, Ruff Stuff, Amir Alexander and Niles Cooper that linger longest in the memory.y.

Review: This second album from the former trio (now permanently joined by fourth member The Mole) sees Cobblestone Jazz refine the process and sounds from their debut 23 Seconds. Though rooted in minimal techno, the group take a much more free and improvisational approach to recording, something that bears fruit almost immediately on Sun Child which combines the slick Rhodes piano sound of Bob James with paper thin claps and live cymbals to give the tune a vitality seldom heard on rigid minimal.




Mr Polite is a great lesson on how to use vocoders to devastating effect - repeating a mantra-like refrain as instruments join in around it. Children on the other hand is sparse and edgy with shakers and hi-hats to the fore. Stepping away from techno rhythms briefly, Midnight Sun slows the pace right down and creates a dreamy soundscape around some distant and seriously warped vocals - a combination that's as beautiful as it is intriguing. Though Cobblestone Jazz's approach is different to most, don't let the methodology fool you - it's still a minimal dance record through and through, albeit with some brilliantly fresh ideas and sounds.

Review: Given her current popularity, it's no surprise to see all-conquering house hero Maya Jane Coles mixing the latest instalment of !K7's long-running DJ Kicks series. The diminutive DJ/producer is in fine form, too, mixing up typically atmospheric house cuts and clandestine deepness with saucer-eyed late night faves and forgotten B-sides (see Bozzwell's surprisingly emotional "In My Cocoon"). As a mix it's as deep, melodic and groovy as you'd expect, with a strong vocal theme running throughout. As it progresses, it tiptoes further into bleary-eyed darkroom territory, via stand-out cuts from Marcel Dettmann, Caribou (his thrilling remix of Virgo Four), Gerry Read and T Williams.

Review: Renowned producer, remixer, DJ and record label owner Carl Craig is one of the few artists who can truly claim to have shaped the sound of
modern electronic music. Making music since the tender age of 17, Craig has created everything from ambient soundscapes to jazz
during the past 20 years, but it's his work in dance music that is at his core. 'Sessions' is a long overdue album that brings together a personal
selection of Carl's incredible back catalogue, from his early work under the aliases Paperclip People and 69 to worldwide hits like 'Throw'
(recently covered live by LCD Soundsystem) and groundbreaking tracks like 'Bug in the Bassbin'. Alongside the classics, the two discs also showcase why Craig is still such a powerful force in music today with a diverse range of remixes for the likes of XPress 2, Theo Parrish and many others. For his rework for Junior Boys'. 'Like A Child' he was just nominated for a Grammy.
The selection also includes previously unreleased tracks, alternative versions of his own productions, as well as some exclusive unreleased
remixes. 'Sessions' reminds us of how exciting and unique Carl Craig's productions and remixes are and why he remains at the top of his game,
a retrospective of one of the world’s most influential and groundbreaking figures in electronic music.

Review: Dam Funk has been foundational in crystallising Stones Throw's undisputed leadership in the nu-school funk and boogie scene, and he's up there with the great J Dilla in our books. Naturally, he's been asked to mix up the latest series of DJ Kicks and, ladies and gentlemen, it's a real masterclass - one of those comps you can safely leave on and let it do its thing on you. The mood is personified by a fine blend of electronics and tougher, funkier rhythms by artists such as Index, Moon B, and Dam himself. There are also a few rare cuts by Chicago house legend Gemini that fit in perfectly, and a whole heap of wavy, Cali-inspired electronic funk. Badass.

Review: It would be fair to say that Deetron has taken the opportunity provided by a DJ Kicks mix to show off a little. We'll forgive him, though, because he's delivered an astonishingly good mix. Cramming an astonishing 38 tracks on to one CD might look like overkill, but the selection, programming and mixing (presumably in the studio, given the number of overdubs and sneaky track blends involved) is so good that you barely notice. Musically, he delivers a brilliant blend of electronic music old and new, moving from deep house and jazzy electronica to ambient via slamming rave jams and almost every techno sub-genre you can think of. We'd usually spend time banging on about highlights, but they're so plentiful that there simply isn't space. Just buy it: you won't be disappointed.